


Schism

by bitofageek



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Loki Wins, Angry Frigga (Marvel), Avengers: Endgame (Movie), BAMF Frigga (Marvel), BAMF Loki, BAMF Tony Stark, BAMF without bashing, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, FUCK endgame, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Frigga (Marvel) Lives, Gen, Hurt Loki, Hurt Tony, Infinity Gems, Infinity Stone Soul World (Marvel), Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Redemption, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Major Character Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, More of a Time-Travel-fix-it AU, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Platonic Relationships, Post-Avengers (2012), Protective Frigga (Marvel), Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Russo’s Suck, SHIELD, Screw You Marvel, Self-Indulgent, Team as Family, Temporary Character Death, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Time Travel Fix-It, Timeline Shenanigans, Tony Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony-centric, Wanda Redemption, because it didn’t happen in this verse, gonna fix that crap, infinity gems - character - Freeform, just not the original Avengers team, major character death - mostly, same reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2020-06-28 11:18:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19811200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitofageek/pseuds/bitofageek
Summary: Loki makes a surprising choice after he escapes with the Tesseract.*****This is an alternate timeline starting from the Loki-Tesseract scene from Endgame.Marvel pissed me off starting with AoU through to Endgame. I just need a do-over to recover from the last 3+ movies.If you like self-indulgent, Tony-centric, happy stories - this one's for you!The characters from Avengers are present, but the Avengers as a unit don't exist - no bashing, just a different direction.





	1. When Opportunity knocks (really hard)

**Author's Note:**

> Outside of using this jumping-off point, I'm going to be inspired by the good stuff and pretend the rest of it didn't exist cause Marvel for some reason crapped all over the Team potential of the Avengers and went for inter-team drama (why, Marvel, WHY!?!) They did everybody wrong in the character development department. Not sure if I can buy back into Avengers-as-family... though maybe they'll redeem themselves.
> 
> Not sure how often I'll be updating or how the muse will hit - I'm going back to school for a mid-life career change, starting a program in Respiratory Therapy. My brain may be overwhelmed with medical terminology ;)

Loki had never been so happy to be in so much pain. His body hurt like Hel.

His _MIND?_ His mind was his own, truely, 100% his own for the first time in who knew how long. The Other was gone. 

Dazed and disoriented, Loki suddenly realized there was no sound of battle. The sky was clear and the portal was closed. 

It worked.

They'd done it. 

Loki gathered himself together enough to pull himself out of the floor, just as the Avengers arrived. 

Chagrinned and relieved, with a nod to the man who'd survived both himself and the Chitauri, Loki half-smiled and said,

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."

* * * * *

Loki was not happy to be in chains, and the muzzle had to go. But at least he was no longer under Thanos' influence.

He'd healed from the Hulk's "recalibration", and his head was finally clear. Clear enough to notice. 

Something was going on... with Stark.

There were TWO of him.

But they were _not_ the same. 

There was a commotion - that he hadn't caused - would wonders never cease!

The tesseract landed right next to him. 

He took the opportunity - and the tesseract - thought about what he needed most - and disappeared. 

* * * * *

Tony hated medical. Ever since Afghanistan, just - ugh, he hated it. But of course, spending time in space in a non-space-worthy suit and running out of oxygen, falling hundreds of feet before being snatched out of the air by Hulk and crashing to the ground, having your heart stop (briefly!), and miscellaneous battle related bumps and bruises got people all up in arms and demanding he get medical attention… so he spent time in _Stark_ medical. 

Yeah, hospitals and more especially SHIELD Medical were NOT an option. 

He made a nuisance of himself until he was released and promised Doctor Banner (not that kind of doctor, yeah, whatever) would be on hand to keep his eyes on him. And JARVIS promised he would keep sensors on him and alert Dr. Banner of any issues (traitor - Yeah, he got warm-fuzzies from that but he’d never admit it out loud). And if he had to “rest”, he was going to make the most of it. 

“JARVIS, are we still connected to SHIELD databases?” Tony asked. He was NOT going to lay in bed, so he’d made himself comfy in the living room and pulled up holoscreens there.

“Yes, Sir. Is there anything in particular you wish to view?”

“Everything having to do with Loki, the Scepter, the Tesseract. Oh, and anything Stark related.” Tony added, eyes narrowed. “Dig deep, JARVIS. Fury’s secrets have secrets and I’m not in the mood to put up with any bullshit from SHIELD and Co.”

“It would be my pleasure, Sir.” JARVIS replied. Tony’d almost swear he heard a bit of enjoyment in JARVIS’ voice at the thought of a bit of digital retribution for SHIELD’s past antics. 

Tony couldn’t agree more. 

*****

Loki materialized in a library.

A very LARGE library.

A very large MIDGUARDIAN library.

Hmmmm.

He was actually stunned for a few seconds and looked around in wonder at it before coming to his senses and using the power of the tesseract - just a small amount because he wasn’t foolish - to remove the chains and gag. The area appeared to be deserted - not surprising considering everything that had happened in the city. A bonus for him - he had some time to recover and try to figure out how to deal with everything that had happened. It was just - too much.

Loki reached out with his magic to confirm he was alone, and wandered farther into the depths of the library, seeking the most remote, unused area he could find. Once he found a spot that fit his needs, he set a very basic “nothing to see here” spell and wards to warn him should anyone approach, then promptly collapsed into a deep and surprisingly dreamless sleep. 

He woke hours later, healed, somewhat rested and quite hungry. He managed to find food in the building, and a working television gave him an update on what had occurred in the city while he was recovering. The building he was in had not sustained any damage, but various parts of the city would be shut down as damage was being repaired.

He felt a small prick of guilt about the destruction he’d caused, but considering the alternative was decimation at the hands of the Mad Titan, he pushed it aside. A clear head was required for what he needed to do. This attack wouldn’t be the Titan’s last, Asgard wasn’t going to be any help, and he had very few options. He hoped fortune would continue to favor him as it had when the tesseract had appeared at his feet.

Only time would tell. 

*****

Tony smacked the table in front of him and exclaimed an emphatic “I knew it!” to the empty (well, JARVIS was there) room. He’d had suspicions that had been tickling his brain. And now he had proof. Thor had told stories of his brother’s cunning and skill in battle, Loki’s ability to work his way out of no-win situations, squeezing victory out of almost certain defeat.

NONE of that had happened during the invasion. Loki had been spotted easily, caught easily - twice, and his portal had been shut down by a "super-powered boy+1 girl band” hastily thrown together by SHIELD. 

It made absolutely NO sense. 

Tony had watched the accumulated footage of Loki several times, noting the behavioral changes, overall appearance, body language, mood swings - each time more of the pieces fell into place and a theory came together… **Loki wasn’t running the show**. The clincher was the footage of Clint and Selvig’s “conversions”. Tony had JARVIS zoom in so he could see their eyes, the swimming dark and shining blue when the Scepter’d taken them over. 

Tony remembered the Scepter and that cold blue coming towards his own chest in the tower and his heart clenching at the thought of being forced to work for Loki… and then he remembered _LOKI’s_ eyes. Not a _shining_ blue… but “off”. He’d had JARVIS freeze and magnify all images of Loki’s face. That’s when he saw it - blue-green, shifting, cloudy, muddied color; it was worst when Loki’s behavior was most unstable.

The evidence was clearest in JARVIS’ footage from the tower. Loki’s behavior during his fight with Thor was erratic… he’d actually shed a tear when he’d stabbed his brother - with a rather short blade considering he had a huge mind-bending-spear-thingy in his hand at the time. And after the Hulk redecorated Tony’s floor with Loki, Hulk’s eyes **weren’t** the only ones that were green. 

“Flag it and save it all, JARVIS. Shoot Rhodey a secured copy.” Tony paused, thinking. “Hold off on informing SHIELD. I’m not 100% sure about what’s up with them after their Palladium-poisoning game-playing BS and the tesseract weapons building business. I think we need to _really_ know who we're dealing with before we get any more involved with _them_.” 

“Done, Sir. I agree. I'm continuing to amass Stark and tesseract-related information as you requested.” JARVIS replied. “May I also suggest, Sir, that sleep is in order? You did promise Ms. Potts you would rest." Tony rolled his eyes, and JARVIS continued, “Dr. Banner will be here to check on you momentarily. Perhaps you can share these observations with him and then retire?” JARVIS prodded, **not** very subtly. 

Tony shifted on the couch, realizing that, yeah-his body did kinda hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

“Fine, fine. Give Bruce a heads up to swing by, and order us up some food. I promise I’ll crash when we’re done.”

“I live to serve, Sir”.

Tony smiled at JARVIS’ tone. Snarky bastard. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't really thought about the "Loki was coerced, probably tortured" situation until I'd seen others comment so I decided to rewatch the beginning of Avengers for Loki's arrival and compare it to the arrival of Ebony Maw, Corvus Glave and Proxima Midnight, which we saw in Infinity War. I have to say, I agree. The evil 3 are decidedly in top shape, happy, completely on board with and spouting the same lines as "Dad" - basically fully engaged in Thanos' vision.
> 
> Thanks to a reader - Scepter's manipulation of Loki is confirmed by Marvel bio (https://www.marvel.com/characters/loki/on-screen) - about halfway down page. (Thx Empollard!)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKYN-yR2oM  
> Loki arrives sweating heavily (:51-1:58), looks surprised that he 1)is in the building he's in 2) has the scepter and 3) that it can do what it does (multiple times). His face is gaunt, he looks like he's been punched in the eyes with how sunken and bruised they are. His words to the humans are that he's BURDENED with glorious purpose, and that "freedom is life's great lie"... he's supposedly an ally of Thanos? Pretty sure he's aware it's HIS freedom that's a lie.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhlTX0zg8XM  
> As he leaves with Clint, Selvig and Agent Extra, he stumbles and is supported by Agent Extra (1:10). The same happens when they climb into the truck to leave the about-ready-to-implode base (1:17). Mr. Haughty-graceful-always-in-control stumbles and collapses into the back of the truck.
> 
> Not saying Loki doesn't think humans are ants, or that he actively cares about Earth, but pretty sure he's working for Thanos cause the alternative would make him "long for something sweet as pain" - Loki's actually threatened with torture by The Other.


	2. Where Jagged Edges Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions and overtures are made.

Loki heartily enjoyed Midgardian cleverness. For such a short-lived species, their creativity was rather astounding. Thanks to the temporary closing of many buildings in Manhattan, he was able to make use of the resources of the New York Public Library he'd unexpectedly transported himself to. His only thoughts when he'd grabbed the tesseract had been safety/recovery/help - and surprisingly he had access to **all three** to some degree within the building's walls, at least temporarily.

Even so, with such little exposure to Midgard, Manhattan, etc., he didn't entirely understand why he'd ended up where he was until he accessed the internet with his magic, and then he laughed. Loki was in a precarious position and he knew it. He would not be safe in Asgard. He was in no condition to travel within the 9 realms. And he'd wreaked havoc on Midgard. He needed sanctuary, and a chance to explain what was really happening during "his" invasion of Midgard. The only person he thought he would have even a small chance of communicating with was within walking distance of his current location. 

Even being the so-called "God of Mischief", he found that hilarious. 

Loki shook his head, still chuckling quietly to himself as he considered what to do next.

* * * * * 

The tower was a bit of a mess, Tony thought. Well, that was a rather large understatement... but it could have been worse. Most of the floors were undamaged. Most of his penthouse was miraculously undamaged. He still had a rather large Loki-sized hole in his living room floor, but at least the windows were secured until they could be repaired. 

Bruce, his favorite science-bro, accepted his invitation to stay at the tower for the time being. The rest of the Avengers crew was bunking with Shield, and honestly, Tony was fine with that. Their in-the-field chemistry was impressive, for sure, but beyond that - he really was NOT comfortable with Super Secret Spies and a guy who didn't respect him until he'd nearly died - twice - first saving the helicarrier from crashing, then saving the city from a nuclear bomb. Tony could admit he was an arrogant pain in the ass occasionally, and maybe the Scepter had something to do with the tension, but there was only so much patronizing crap he was willing to deal with.

Shield could put his number on speed dial for emergencies, but that was as far as he was willing to go with Fury's SSHC (Secret Super Hero Club). 

***

He was still sore, but mostly recovered and working in the lab, with Dum-E, U and Butterfingers keeping him company when Jarvis alerted him of a "visitor" appearing in the living room of the tower. Tony only knew of one person who could just "appear" in the tower. 

"What's he doing?" Tony asked.

"He is sitting... on the floor near the spot where the Hulk... deposited him previously." Jarvis replied as he pulled up the security feed of the living room 

Tony paused... his brain a bit of a blue screen at that. "I don't know what to say to that," Tony replied. "He hasn't been doing anything else? Pacing dangerously, waving weaponry, that sorta thing?"

"No Sir." Jarvis sounded mildly amused. "He appears to be waiting. Also, his eyes are green."

Tony made a decision then, and he hoped it was the right one. "Keep a suit ready, J. Let's find out what's going on."

* * * * *

Loki waited, somewhat nervously, for Tony Stark, the Man of Iron, to appear.

He wasn't used to being nervous, and he didn't like it. He'd been on edge for SO long - since even before his "fall". The desire to feel safe for more than a few hours at a time was bone deep. It felt like an impossible dream and he pushed it down. He didn't have time for dreams. 

To say he was surprised when the Man of Iron appeared _without_ the protection of his armor would have been an understatement of almost mythic proportions. His eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to keep his jaw from dropping (it was a near thing). 

"What?" Tony asked, looking down to make sure he hadn't spilled something disgusting on himself or left his zipper open or something. The look on Loki's face was hilarious.

"You are not wearing your armor", Loki said. 

OH - well, yeah, the great Tony Stark's protective instincts not activating. Truth be told, though, Jarvis was damn formidable, so Tony’d decided to skip the “I can totally kick your ass” posturing.

"Neither are you," Tony answered. That response was greeted with the tension in Loki's body draining so quickly and so obviously, it added more weight to Tony's theory. That and the fact that Loki was still sitting while Tony was standing, putting the power in Tony's hands quite clearly. Tony's experience with Thor gave him the impression that body language was pretty similar between Asgardians and humans.

"So, what's up, Reindeer Games?"

Loki wasn't sure what 'Reindeer Games' meant, but he replied to the first part of the question honestly, "I have come to apologize, to seek amnesty, to make reparations, and offer my services against those who sent me." As he spoke, he squared his shoulders, aware it was possible that none of what he sought would come to pass. But he had to TRY. There was too much at stake. 

Tony paused, processing what Loki had said, what Tony himself had seen and experienced, running permutations and scenarios through his head. He looked at Loki - _really_ looked - and recognized (unexpectedly) a bit of himself, post-Afghanistan - in the Asgardian. And he made a decision.

"Tell me everything." Tony replied. 

Loki did. 


	3. Seeing the Pieces

Tony never expected to have anything in common with an Alien-pseudo-Norse-Diety, but, well, there you go. 

He and Loki had talked for hours. First, they talked about Loki's involuntary participation in and voluntary sabotage of the invasion, about what came before.

(Daddy-issues spanned the universe, who knew? )

That led to Tony sharing info about his past (god, when did he become a responsible adult dealing with feelings!?!?). 

It sucked, but it was necessary - there was so much complicated shit raining down, denial wasn't going to help anyone or anything. Because (thanks, concussions!) after talking with Loki, Tony remembered something that scared the crap out of him and was pretty damn far beyond his pay grade (he was good, but not 'handle an alien invasion alone' good!). 

An armada - there was no other word for it: "whaliens" , planetoid-ships ?!?, troop carriers, stuff he couldn't even categorize. Tony had Jarvis pull up any video from his suit during his time in the wormhole and there it was - grainy and distant, but there. 

Tony couldn't deal with this alone - even with a demi-god at his side, that would be foolish and useless. 

**EARTH** couldn't deal with this alone - it didn't have the tech, the resources, the capacity to fight a battle of that scale.

The "victory" in New York was a fluke, a gift, a warning - barely even a battle.

Tony hoped someone would take it for what it actually was. And if they didn't, well, he'd find a way to make it clear.

* * * * *

Loki hadn't been able to quite hide his surprise at being offered sanctuary in Stark Tower after the previous night's conversation. At best, he'd hoped to be heard and NOT turned over to his somewhat-brother or Shield. As a thanks, he used his magic to repair the damage he'd caused to the windows - which had startled a laugh out of Tony... who then proceeded to ask if it would be in poor taste to keep the hole in his floor a conversation piece or just repair it like a "regular" person.

Loki merely replied with eyebrow-daggers as the marble smoothed out. 

He woke the following morning and was directed to the common area kitchen by Jarvis, where Tony was already on his 2nd cup of coffee and putting together breakfast from an array of foodstuffs on the table. Tony gestured for Loki to do the same. They ate in companionable silence, but Loki could sense that Tony was about to suggest something necessary but unpleasant. Loki was right. 

Tony sighed heavily before speaking, "We can't prepare for this alone. We need powerful allies sooner rather than later... we need to talk to Thor." After hearing a bit of Loki's history, Tony - though respectful of the power and strength Thor possessed - wasn't otherwise impressed with Thor's diplomatic or observational skills. He HOPED recent events might change that somewhat, but hope wouldn't stop a homicidal alien with an armada.

Loki knew he was right - he pretty much felt the same way about his brother. He wasn't thrilled but he understood why alliances were needed.

Regardless, he refused to continue to be a scapegoat for Asgard and the shortsighted, imperialistic, and frankly somewhat delusional attitudes of his not-father. 

"I agree. I will keep myself hidden when you meet. But we need to know what we are dealing with where Asgard is concerned - things I am rather certain Thor would be unaware of if true, that would determine what our next steps are." Tony nodded.

* * * * *

Tony felt pretty ridiculous standing on his tower calling out to what amounted to an inter-galactic peeping Tom to ask for a meeting with Thor, but - well - strange times and all that. 

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long - he guessed Asgard was on high alert and paying attention to Earth-Midgard-whatever since the invasion because the Bifrost redecorated his roof within the hour.

Thor met him on the roof - the tower would be Loki's sanctuary in truth until Tony knew where Thor stood and what kind of response would come from the demi-god once he had all the facts. 

"Man of Iron!" Thor boomed as he walked towards Tony, arm outstretched in greeting, "How do you fare? Have you recovered?" Tony'd forgotten about Thor's impromptu heart-restart at the tower (what was his life when an incident like that was forgettable'?!?).

"I fare well, Point Break. You?" Thor's shoulders slumped noticeably. Tony wasn't surprised - his brother had been thought dead, then been fought as an enemy and then escaped. Thor was having a pretty shitty time. 

"As well as can be expected," was Thor's diplomatic answer. The battle on Midgard, the loss of his brother, the reactions of those he'd considered his friends for centuries... experiences were changing him and he no longer felt quite right with the Warrior's Three, with his father. He didn't know what to say - he didn't really have the words. 

"I may have something to help with that." Tony replied. "I have something to show you."

* * * * *

Thor sat in the upper penthouse room - the one that had been damaged during the battle. Tony had Jarvis play all of the footage he'd collected during Loki's time on earth.

The mixture of guilt and despair on Thor's face... it was heartbreaking - and for a jaded billionaire like Tony, that was saying something. But sad as it was, it gave him hope - because if "clueless till he practically died while exiled on a foreign planet" Thor could get his act together, they might have a chance to start preparing for the fight of all their lives. 

"I have been an oblivious, selfish brother for centuries. I lost Loki, then found him again and STILL did not see what was in front of me. YOU - Man of Iron - a stranger to _both_ of us, saw the truth my brother hid, the truth of who he was and was not." Tony's eyes bugged out a bit at Thor's declaration... he, well, wasn't expecting this.

"Loki is missing, has been gone since the day of the battle." Thor stepped toward Tony, placing his left hand on Tony's shoulder, crossing his other hand - fist above his heart. "You are a true shield-brother, in thought and action, Anthony Stark. What you have shown me, with your help and permission, I will use to defend and protect my brother." Tony nodded. He could tell Thor's statement was more than just words - it was an oath. 

"I can do that, Thor." Tony replied, "and I'm honored to be called your shield-brother." Thor gave him a satisfied smile. "I hate to dump more on you, buddy, but there's more, and it's bad."

Thor's brow furrowed in concern; Tony continued. "The Chitauri aren't done with us, and neither is their leader. We need your help, and Asgard's - and anyone else out there you can get to work together." Tony pulled up the suit-cam video from the wormhole to bring his point home. He wasn't surprised to feel a storm brewing outside his tower - he felt the same way as Thor about what they were looking at. 

Tony saw a green light pop up on Jarvis' display - they'd decided that would be Loki's signal that he wished to communicate directly with his brother. Tony took a deep breath - he was pretty sure this wasn't going to be fun. "Before we do that, you need to make things right with your brother." Thor's head whipped around to face Tony, and Tony plowed ahead, "I can help with that. But I need you to listen, and hold your temper or it won't happen." 

"I swear, Man of Iron." Thor stated. "You have my word." 

"Jarvis, send the all clear." Tony motioned to one of the chairs, "Have a seat, Point Break. We have a lot of stuff to deal with."


	4. Repairing the Cracks

Tony brought the brothers together to talk - hoping they'd keep the property damage to a minimum and be careful of their squishy human shieldbrother. Surprisingly, they did.

Also surprisingly, Thor was the first to approach Tony in his workshop, and with a request that Tony wasn't expecting. 

"Man of Iron, I am loathe to ask, but I am at a loss with this situation", Thor confessed with a hangdog look. 

"What can I do for you, Thor?" Tony wasn't surprised - Thor'd been hit by quite the crapstorm of information in a short period of time. He'd be more surprised if Thor _hadn't_ been unsettled.

"I cannot return to Asgard," Thor continued, "the bias against my brother weighs heavily on me; but I need some time to come to terms with what I have learned, and a place of peace to do this." Thor.... THOR... looked embarrassed. 

"I get it, Point Break. " Tony paused his work, "Let me see what I can come up with and I'll meet you on the roof." Thor gave a greatful nod and headed out. 

"J, any ideas?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sir. I believe I have just the thing," a hologram with location information popped up in front of Tony and he smiled.

"Well, how about that?" Tony muttered to himself, eyebrows raised and small and slightly mischevious smile on his face. "Find a nice, quiet town with a hotel and make reservations for Thor Bohdi." 

*****

Thor spent a week at a small town near [Jotunheimen National Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotunheimen_National_Park), mingling with the locals, thinking, and reading (probably more than he had in the last 100 years) information Anthony had sent him about what Midgardians called "inter-racial adoptions".

He was fairly certain he'd not spent so much time in deep thought in his hundreds of years of life - a thought which, now, disturbed him significantly. 

How could he ever think to be a good king with such behavior? How could he have let things become so broken between himself and his brother? How could he not see? If things had become so brittle within the royal family, how could Asgard not be affected? 

Now, though, he could not _unsee_. Now, he could not let things continue as they had. 

Asgard was broken. The Allfather was not acting in his people's best interest. 

He would stand for Asgard. He would stand for his brother, and fight for his family AND his people. 

He took out the Starkphone that Anthony had graciously given to him so he could "keep in touch", and let Jarvis know he was on his way back. 

*****

Tony was waiting for Thor on the roof of Stark Tower, "So, how was your trip?" he asked, mock-innocently.

"You, Master Stark, are not a man of subtlety". Tony snorted, and Thor continued, "Thank you for your lack of subtlety. It was most appreciated."

"You're welcome - and seriously, _you_ don't do subtle, so..." Tony let that hang for a moment. "Time to brainstorm. We have a lot to do." They headed downstairs. 

One of the first things on their agenda was presenting Loki's case to Asgard - NONE of them were impressed with the AllFather's idea of "justice", and all had serious doubts as to how he would receive the information about what happened after Loki's fall from the Bifrost. It was actually Thor who came up with probably the best strategy. 

"We need Mother", Thor said. Loki's eyes widened at the suggestion, "She has standing in the court, as well as influence over father. And she is well versed in politics." Thor paused, probably hoping his next statement wouldn't be taken badly, "also, Mother's gifts include healing, and Brother, you need her help. And perhaps, if she is willing, she could help Hawkeye as well to recover from his time under the mind stone's influence. 

"That's... surprisingly insightful and rather brilliant, Thor. You've changed." The look on Loki's face was priceless - Tony was glad he had Jarvis to capture it. 

Thor smiled rather sadly, "I only wish it had not taken losing you to make it so."

Tony, enemy of awkward pauses, interjected, "OK Norse-bros, we have plans to make and issues to fix - let's call mom."


	5. Taking Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're not a family, but they might be able to be a team.  
> Communication, respect, and willingness to reach out can make a big difference.

Tony isn't sure how Thor does it, but he manages to get Frigga to come to earth. Tony welcomed her royal highness-ness and got out of the way - seriously, WAYYY too many feelings going on in his tower for his comfort. He hid out in his workshop and tried to work out what to do about the Clint situation. He finally decided to just try to contact Clint directly, hoping he'd kept the Starkphone he'd given to the team members during their "planetary defense party". 

<< hey Legolas, swing by the tower if you're in NYC>>

[[ ??? ]]

<< Point Break's mom's in town; mom's chicken soup always makes you feel better.>>

[[ Tomorrow? ]]

<< See you then>>

******

Helping Clint was easier than Tony expected - Queen Frigga was, well, amazing. 

What was more surprising was Clint's exclamation of "holy shit, Loki!" but in a 'something's wrong' way, not a 'kill the son of a bitch' way.

Apparently their little mind-bending escapade was not 100% one-sided; Clint just didn't remember everything clearly until Queen Frigga's magic began to heal the damage. The impressions Clint had of creepy-cruel-many-fingered-alien jamming himself into Loki's brain - well... Clint was pissed about being used as a cohort by Loki, but Loki had never used pain to control him or Selvig. Which made things a whole lot easier for Tony to give Clint a head's up about the demi-god's presence. And Clint surprised Tony by being ok with NOT revealing Loki's presence - because apparently, post-invasion, Clint hadn't gotten much support beyond concussion treatment after his "cognitive recalibration" episode.

Of course, with Clint came Natasha. Clint's promise about keeping Loki on the down-low was good enough for Natasha. And since Shield was basically telling the person who'd saved her life to "suck it up and move on" after MIND CONTROL, well, let's just say Natasha was not in a forgiving mood. Add all that to the intel Jarvis was STILL collating - _Tony_ wasn't thrilled with Shield... at all. He offered the duo a non-Shield place to stay when they needed it, figuring since he was offering as much for Bruce, why not. Though they got a couple rooms on one of the available floors as opposed to the Lab floor/eventual-Hulk-room-area that Bruce got.

Steve already had a place in Brooklyn - he was enjoying his old stomping grounds, but Tony asked Natasha to give him a heads-up anyway. Tony and Steve might never be bosom companions, but if Shield dropped the ball with Clint's OBVIOUS post-brainwash trauma, they sure as hell weren't up to the task of reintegrating a 7-decades-frozen-20-something year old. Tony figured he'd reach out to Rhodey about that - military was more his thing - and that much _adulting_ and _feelings_ was WAY over his quota for the year.

One thing Tony quickly made clear to Clint, Natasha and Steve - if they were going to continue to work for Shield, he was fine with that - as long as they left work at the door once they got to Stark tower. He had a company to run - employees to take care of, tech to manufacture, annoying board members to juggle, and press & media to manage. He was NOT willing to risk that for a shadowy-pseudo-government-agency that already screwed him over once. And with the invasion crap they'd just dealt with being only the tip of the outer-space-invader-nightmare, he was in no mood for bullshit. 

They agreed. 

*******

A few weeks after the invasion, another surprising development showed up at Tony's doorstep, well - tower...lobby... whatever.

The timing was interesting.

Loki, Mom and Thor were in Norway, taking time to heal and plan how to deal with "dad". Clint and Tasha were on a mission.

Steve was with Rhodes, still working out how Captain America could fit into today's world. Rogers was hip deep in classes to help him catch up on world history, military leadership and protocol, and all that jazz. The most interesting thing Rhodey'd told Tony was that Steve was learning EXACTLY what he was capable of since he hadn't had time to really get to know how his new body worked and what it could do. Considering how he could take down mutant-alien-soldiers easily, the last thing Steve wanted to do was accidentally hurt someone just by patting them on the back a-la-Thor.

No Shield, no Norse pseudo-deities at the tower. Just the science-bros.

**

The Ancient One has never been one to champion the revelation of their order, though it was not a foreign concept to the order itself. She was aware that her successor would change that in some way, but until recently, it was not something she had put any energy towards.

That changed during the Chitauri invasion. Though the Order could not alter the incident as a whole, they did what they could in the neighborhood around the temple. She had come when the Master of the New York Sanctum had called - and she was very glad she had.

Something significant had changed when the battle had ended. She had been the bearer of the Eye of Agamotto for decades, and in all that time it had behaved as nothing more than a useful tool. She was completely aware of its power, and its nature as an Infinity stone, but it had been “quiet”.

Suddenly, within hours of Tony Stark’s almost-fatal sacrifice to save the earth, the Eye “woke up”. Though it did not speak to her in words, she followed its “impulses” and found herself on a path she had never “Seen”, with an Infinity Stone practically singing, in the lobby of Stark Tower.

**

Jarvis alerted Tony immediately, but NO ONE ELSE seemed to notice the presence of the striking, bald woman in strange clothes standing IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LOBBY - looking straight at one of Jarvis' cameras with a small smile on her face. Never one to pass up a mystery, and always the one lacking in self-preservation skills (though he DID give Bruce a head's up), Tony had Jarvis give the mysterious woman a green light and she entered the penthouse elevator. 

She stepped out and introduced herself. 

She talked of Loki, knowing of his presence, the presence of the mind stone and the tesseract.

She showed Tony the magic he'd created through science when he built the Arc reactor.

She offered to help him deal with the damage done by the infinity stones. 

She offered her services and the help of the Order.   
  


“You may call me Yao.”

*****

The Ancient One returned to Kamar Tag deep in thought. The Eye had “opened her eyes” in ways she had not anticipated. The Future she had seen as she waited to speak with Dr. Stark had shaken her to the core. She’d _never_ been more grateful for her decades of training. And to then meet a man who carried **the essence of an infinity stone in his chest?!?** She was moved at that moment to pledge her support and that of the Order to aid him and those who sought to protect the earth. She knew that would be received with “mixed feelings”. But she also KNEW it was the right, the _necessary_ thing to do. And with the presence of TWO infinity stones on earth, one of which was awake and decidedly “opinionated”, she was rather confident she could make her case.

Once she’d had time to process the global implications of all she had SEEN at Stark Tower, she took time to meditate on the personal revelations she’d been given by the Eye. She had been aware of her future and her passing, but she had never known what was beyond that moment - until now. 

The Eye had shown her what had come to pass in another life as a result of information that had come to light when she’d died. But it had also gone beyond that incident, showing her glimpses into the lives of two others - into the past of Loki and what had been a potential future of Tony Stark: destruction brought to bear as the result of disturbing secrets.

The Eye, dormant and functioning only as a tool for hundreds of years, was communicating with her in the only way it could. She didn’t know if it would understand gratitude, but she projected that feeling as strongly as she could.

Then she went to find her friend Mordo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Marvel universe wiki info, Yao is the name of the Sorcerer Supreme.


	6. Light and Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discoveries are made

Tony enjoyed spending some time with Loki & Thor and their mom - she "mom'd" him too, which was nice (kinda melancholic, but nice), but he was glad when they headed off to Jotunheimen together. 

Of course he'd set up a place for them, complete with AI support. Jarvis was awesome enough to monitor their location in case they needed him, and they could use google for practically anything else. And he was independent enough to help them out in case they were a "little too Asgardian" for comfort. 

There weren't any issues re. Loki anymore, thank goodness. Once Tony'd given the evidence he'd compiled to the UN and the US government re the attack and related brainwashing, charges had been dropped. The fact that Loki had actively assisted in the recovery of NYC cemented his acceptance - there was even some talk of making him an ambassador, which Tony found unsurprising and hilarious at the same time. 

Eventually, Frigga and Thor gave Tony a head's up that they'd decided it was time to return to Asgard and have a "conversation" with Odin. OH, to be a fly on _that_ wall, Tony thought. Loki was to remain on earth, under his own AND his mother's protective spells to keep him safe from prying Asgardian eyes - they covered Loki himself, as well as the Jotunheim, Stark Tower, and Malibu locations. 

Did Tony say Frigga was awesome? Yeah, she was. 

They'd been gone for a few earth days when Jarvis alerted Tony that Loki was in distress. "Try my panic-attack protocols and see if they help", Tony responded. 

Tony hadn't been super excited about therapy - a few tell-alls from previous experiences in his youth had left a really bad taste in his mouth. But he'd done some research and found some... "interesting" people, and managed to find someone he thought he might be able to trust and might understand the rather special circumstances of the situation. (Seriously, what was his life where finding a therapist required someone who could deal with alien-attack-related-PTSD on top of the "generic" human stuff?!?". In the meantime, yeah - DIY panic-attack management. 

Tony asked Jarvis if he knew what triggered the problem, and in a million years, Tony would never have guessed what had Loki so unsettled. A movie - granted, a good one, one he'd enjoyed himself. Now that Tony thought about it, he wasn't entirely surprised, because yeah, after their reasonably in depth conversation way-back-when, with the shitty family history and overall insecurity - it would have been a bit of a shock.

Seconds later he had a slightly panicked demi-god in his living room. Jarvis was still talking, and Loki seemed to be calming down, gradually becoming aware of his now-not-Norwegian surroundings. 

"Hey Reindeer Games," Tony figured calm and relaxed was the best way to go (hopefully not for too long, because, well - that wasn't exactly his default setting). 

Loki looked at him, and said in such a lost voice, "I don't know who I'm supposed to be!", then just collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. And yeah, Tony could identify with that a bit. He'd been - literally - blown apart and had to remake himself - it was a work in progress. He said as much to Loki. 

"You _can_ be yourself here", Tony reassured him, "and it doesn't matter what form that takes". Tony meant it; _he_ was 100% done with trying to be what other people expected him to be (media BS aside). It was still a work in progress because of the old baggage and new traumas that had piled on since Afghanistan. Tony was going to make damn sure Loki got the support he needed to be able to reach that place as well.

He joined Loki on the floor, looking out at the skyline, doing his best to give off an "I'm here for you" vibe and feeling pretty sure he was sucking at it as the silence stretched on. 

Until ice crystals started to form on the floor and the temperature dropped noticeably along his side. He turned to face Loki and couldn't restrain the hushed "wow" when he saw the deep blue of Loki's skin and the vibrant red of his eyes. Then he noticed the fear in those eyes and the expectation of rejection, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I see you, Loki". Tony smiled - he was a smart-ass, yeah, but he was also completely serious. 

Loki managed to combine an eye-roll, an exasperated sigh, and an appreciative smirk in response. 

They were both completely aware that a single movie wasn't going to change the world, but a healthy shift in perspective, however minor, would never be taken lightly.

*****

Time passed.

Loki's case had been presented to the United Nations, along with every scrap of evidence Jarvis was able to discover, the power of Stark Industries Legal, and a magic user willing and able to provide reparations. Agreements were made to address the damage and to provide aid in future protections. It didn't hurt that part of that aid was the possibility of a relationship with Asgard. Loki was a skilled politician in his own right, and after a magically-facilitated back-and-forth with Frigga and Thor, Ambassadorship was on the table, and was an opportunity to make things right, improve earth's position on the galactic stage, and NOT be around Odin - a win/win/win all around. The only downside was having to head back to Asgard - however briefly - to make it official. 

While his "Bros-in-arms" were away, Tony built & tweaked suits, Jarvis continued digging through Shield, and the Spy-Assassin-Twins came and went (they were pretty fun for spies, Tony had to admit - snark to rival his own).

If his military schedule allowed, Cap visited occasionally - usually when Clint & Nat were in town. They'd do pizza and movies, and sometimes Cap would spend time with Jarvis to do more in depth "future" catch-up (Jarvis could answer pretty much any question without Tony's snark, so Tony had to admit that was the better choice). Both Tony and Steve had been hit with a "baggage" clue-by-four and dealt with their initial oil-and-water-personality conversation/glow-stick-of-destiny-inspired insult-fest. While they weren't expecting to be best friends, they saw each other as individuals instead of the caricatures they'd walked into their relationship with. It was a _vast_ improvement. 

Things were going smoothly all around. 

Until Jarvis uncovered HYDRA.

***

Tony hoped Thor and Loki were having a better time than he was. 

Tony was tempted to reach out to Fury, but had to wait till the one-eyed pirate contacted him; the waiting was, ha - infuriating! Tony didn't envy the amount of crap the man was going to have to deal with, but considering their "ends justify the means" operating system and the fact the world's greatest threat was growing inside their supposedly "good guy" operation, yeah - he was hoping some introspection was on the horizon.

Wake up calls were a bitch, but he was glad he'd had his. 

Jarvis, of course, was still working his way through the system. There was NO WAY Tony was going to NOT keep an eye on Shield-ra now, with that threat level cranked up to 20 on a scale of 1-10. 

He did suddenly have a taste for calamari, though. 

****

Thor and Loki were _not_ having a better time than Tony. 


	7. Fire and Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor TDW reimagined while IM3 occurs.

Loki was rather stunned when he returned to Asgard. Apparently his mother and mostly-brother were, as the Midgardians would say, “on a tear”. Asgard was in for quite the surprise - and wonder of wonders, he wasn't the one responsible for it! 

Thanks to Tony's ingenuity, Heimdall was able to access the evidence regarding Loki's abuse and mental torture by the Other. Heimdall had even _apologized_ to him upon his return. Loki still hadn't gotten over that. And watching Thor call out the Warriors 3.5 for their behavior towards Loki, well - that was a sight to behold. For all Loki's insecurity about how he'd fit in his family, the connection forged between Frigga and Thor and himself on Midgard felt as strong as Uru.

Odin, unfortunately (and unsurprisingly), was unmoved by the facts. At least he could do nothing to Loki as the evidence of the situation on Midgard had been made public by Frigga and Thor. And Odin was in no rush to reveal Loki's true origins to Asgard lest he lose his power base. Loki was deeply disturbed by this worrisome behavior - it was irrational, unfounded, and dangerous to Asgard, who depended on their King's rational judgement. He could only hope he wasn't the only one who was aware of Odin's state of mind.

As if things couldn't get any more disruptive, signs of the impending convergence of the 9 realms began, and Heimdall informed Thor that his Midgardian woman had disappeared from Sight. Thor, much to his father's disappointment, returned to Midgard to investigate, while Loki and his mother hurriedly researched the potential impact of the convergence on their respective worlds so they could devise some protection. 

To say Loki was shocked when Thor returned with Jane AND the Aether - which was currently _INSIDE_ Jane - would have been an understatement. Even worse was learning of the Dark Elves' connection to it, and the thinning of dimensional walls associated with the convergence. The implications were too much to ignore - but of course, because it was Loki who put forth the theory, Odin ignored it. 

Unfortunately, Loki's suppositions were proven correct.

*****

Tony despised panic attacks.

Panic attacks sucked, public panic attacks sucked more, panic-attack-inducing-nightmares sucked even more, and scaring the woman you loved half to death during a nightmare sucked on a whole different level.

Dammit - he needed help and didn't know where to go to get it - cause fame and therapy really didn't mix - been there, bought the t-shirt, had the t-shirt sold to multiple media outlets and broadcast all over the place. Feeling like there were no good options was doing NOTHING to help manage the anxiety. AT. ALL. 

Now Happy was in the hospital thanks to some crazed terrorist - UGGGGG! Tony'd found some interesting information about the explosions the bastard was setting off but nothing concrete. Pepper wanted them out of town cause he kinda antagonized the terrorist, and Maya Hansen was knocking at his door? 

Then everything exploded!

*****

Malekith and his Dark Elves breached Asgard's defenses and attacked, intent on possessing the Aether. Thor and his friends joined Odin and the guards to defend the palace, while Loki remained with his mother and her guard to protect Jane and keep her and the Aether from Malekith. As Malekith's main forces attacked the palace, Malekith, the Kursed and a handful of his elite guard breached the Queen's chambers.

With a stunning combination of magic and bladework, Frigga and Loki held them back. As they were about to defeat the invaders, the Kursed broke away to thrust his great sword at and _through_ the queen. Loki slashed at Malekith and teleported across to his mother, pulling Frigga mostly out of the way of the sword, but he wasn't able to teleport the both of them fast enough - and was run through himself!

Loki collapsed against his mother as the doors to the chamber flew open. Thor let loose a cry of anger and anguish as he flung Moljnir at Malekith. The Kursed rushed to the aid of his master and they escaped over the balcony and away from Asgard to regroup. 

As Thor drove Malekith away, a mortally injured Loki used what magic he had left to heal Frigga, unwilling to let her wounds worsen. Thor turned and rushed back to his mother and brother, ripping off his cape to try to stop the flow of blood from his brother's chest as his mother roused. Frigga, weak from her injury, was unable to heal Loki, only managing to relieve some of his pain. Loki roused enough to see his mother recovered, tears coursing down her face.

"Oh my sweet boy, what have you done?" Frigga brushed Loki's hair from his forehead as Loki smiled weakly. "Protected what I love", he whispered.

"All of Asgard will know of your sacrifice, brother," Thor choked, tears falling freely from his own eyes.

"I didn't do it for them," Loki replied.

Thor nodded in understanding, holding Loki close as he died, skin turning greyish blue and raised lines appearing on his face and hands. 

*****

Regenerating fire-people.

What. Was. His. Life?

Thanks to Jarvis' accidentally landing him at the first bomb incident, and to finding a genius kid with an understanding mother and a tinker-fest-garage, he'd somehow managed to piece together part of the mystery surrounding the Mandarin. He hadn't heard anything from Shield - he'd thought they'd figure out he was alive so he'd have some kind of back-up, but he was beginning to wonder if their Hydra problem was more insidious than he initially believed. Thank god for Rhodey. Now he was headed to Miami of all places. 

*****

Odin, enraged by the attack on his castle and his wife, became unhinged, willing to risk all of Asgard in revenge, accusing Thor of cowardice for not joining in the madness.

"YOU ARE NO LONGER FIT TO BE KING!" shouted Thor, raw with grief and done with his father's machinations.

Gungnir, the King's Staff, finding Odin no longer worthy to protect Asgard, agreed and flew to Thor. Thor's first act was to confine Odin to his quarters, with the full support of the Einherjar who were present to witness Gungnir's transfer of rule. Frigga, now recovered, magically bound her husband before verbally ripping him to pieces and leaving him to deal with the results of his selfishness and power-madness. 

Thor and Frigga visited the infirmary where Loki's body was being kept in state until his funeral could be held, as Thor's Warrior friends waited outside the door.

"We will go to Vaneheim and confront Malekith there." Frigga stated, voice hard as stone. "He took my son; he will not take your Jane, and he will not take the Aether."

With his mother's magic, Mjolnir's power, and the Warriors' fighting prowess, they defeated Malekith and rip the Aether from him. Relieved to have succeeded, but hearts heavy with grief, they returned to Asgard.

*****

For a genius, Tony realized, the decisions he made when the people he cared about were under threat were... not the best. Bold, ballsy even - but getting his loved ones almost killed, along with almost getting himself killed? When he got himself out of this particular conundrum he was definitely going to work on getting his head on straight. 

Those were the thoughts that popped into his head as he woke up and discovered he was zip-tied to a bed frame in a makeshift lab, realizing he'd been betrayed by Maya. And the cherry on top of that shit sundae was having a whiny mad scientist slide into ridiculous by blaming Tony for his sociopathic supervillian greedy murder fest...because Tony had blown him off at a post-lecture NEW YEARS EVE PARTY?!? What. The. Hell. 

"Al. Can I call you Al?" Tony tried not to rant, but it was looking like a loosing battle, "Do you have any idea how many people approach me with their 'ground-breaking proposals' at that kind of event?"

Tony stared at Killian in disbelief, because, seriously - this asshole was blaming terroristic life choices on _him_?

"A MINIMUM of 10. And ALL of THEM had the common sense to _introduce themselves professionally_ and make appointments to follow up with me. They _certainly_ didn't push themselves into an elevator at a freaking NEW YEARS EVE party dressed like a hobo and try to sell their idea while I was on my way to have drinks, talk science and potentially get lucky with a beautiful woman." Tony could see Killian was fuming and he was 95% sure it wasn't extremis related, but screw it, he was on roll.

Then the son-of-a-bitch showed Tony a live feed of Pepper burning with extremis while threatening to burn _him_ , then killed Maya and left to kill even more people. The bastard's henchmen didn't know what hit them when Tony's suit showed up. Now all he had to do was meet up with Rhodey and kick the bastard's ass. 


	8. Breaking through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IM3 TDW wrapped up

Killian was dead, the President was safe, Tony wasn't dead, and it was thanks to Pepper and Rhodey. God, he loved his friends - no, his family. His heart had broken when Pepper had fallen, but it burst when she saved him from Killian. She was breathtaking! 

Thanks to Jarvis and the extra Iron Man suits, they were able to get the President to safety, Rhodey back to base to report on the Mandarin issue, and Tony and Pepper to Stark Medical. Poor Bruce was freaking out a bit - not Code Green levels since he and Hulk had actually started to communicate after the Battle of New York, but not being around to be able to help against Killian had upset him. 

Maya had apparently had a change of heart before the end and created a worm program to destroy Extremis' notes so they couldn't continue to be used as a weapon. Tony remembered enough to make sure Pepper was stable - he couldn't remove Extremis, but he had Bruce's skills in the squishy sciences, and they were going to be damn sure she'd be safe until they could figure out how to remove it. And Pepper and Tony promised each other they'd both get help with PTSD. 

*****

Thor sat with Loki's body, keeping vigil. He and his mother had taken turns upon their return from Svartelheim. Thor had asked his mother to be his co-regent - thanks to his eye-opening experiences on Midgard, Thor was aware of his shortcomings and knew Asgard would benefit most by having both his mother and himself to care for it. The Asgard-force - no longer "Odinforce" (they should have known something was wrong when father claimed the magic of Asgard as his own) was stronger than it had been in centuries. 

Thor felt such shame and sorrow at the abuse that he and Asgard had, albeit unknowingly, lain on Loki's shoulders. His brother had been by his side - a Jotun had been by his side - growing up together, fighting, dreaming, scheming. So many lies and so much pain as Odin's legacy - no longer would Thor allow it to continue. 

Thor gently traced the lines of Loki's Jotun heritage that had appeared upon his death - and saw blood seeping into Loki's shirt from the wound in his chest. Before Thor could react, Loki's body began to tremble, then seize violently. Thor ran to the door of the chamber, calling for the healers and sending for his mother. The healers arrived, Eir - the lead healer raced to Loki's side and worked to calm the seizures. She hurriedly opened his tunic and watched as the wound slowly knit itself together. 

Loki screamed.

*****

Charles Xavier had thought about reaching out to Anthony Stark, but the time never seemed right. 

He'd known who Dr. Stark was. How could he not? Genius, billionaire, former-playboy, philanthropist. 

He’d wondered if Anthony Stark was a mutant.

Charles had had an idea that Anthony Stark might be a mutant since his return from Afghanistan, and was almost certain after his reveal as Iron Man. Charles had felt... something... but until Hank had commented on the medical implications of Dr. Stark's survival, he hadn't truly, seriously considered it. 

And then the man had survived the fall from the portal in New York, and the attack on his Malibu home. Charles wouldn’t have been surprised if there were additional life-threatening instances he wasn’t aware of. 

Charles consulted Cerebro and confirmed it. Dr. Stark wasn't quite in the same league as Logan, but he was definitely in the ballpark with him. 

Now Charles faced a bit of a conundrum. When he'd reached out through Cerebro to confirm his suspicions regarding Dr. Stark's mutant status, he'd unintentionally and unexpectedly picked up on the rather stunning amount of psychological stress the man was experiencing.

How do you introduce yourself to a total stranger and offer to help them deal with something so personal? 

Charles finally decided to take a page from Dr. Stark's book regarding dealing with difficult situations.... directly.

He picked up the phone. 

*****

If Thor lived for 10 thousand years, he never wanted to hear his brother scream like that again. 

Frigga arrived in time to assist Eir in putting his brother into a healing sleep. Somehow, Loki's Jotun heritage - magic - he didn't really understand it, somehow it had held him on the edge of death and his body had slowly begun to repair itself. According to his mother and the healers, Loki would recover from his physical wounds.

As co-Regent, in addition to the care and protection of Asgard, Thor embraced his responsibility to enable more invisible wounds to begin to heal. He started with his warrior friends - centuries of misconception had begun to crumble with Loki's sacrifice and healing of Frigga. Thor himself reframed their adventures together, forcibly removing the blinders of judgement they had all worn because Loki was "different" - even though his _difference_ had saved them countless times. 

To Thor's surprise, Heimdall - who had never hidden his mistrust of Loki - had experienced a change of heart. Apparently his lack of Sight where Odin's behavior was concerned and how it had endangered Asgard had shaken Heimdall deeply and caused him to re-evaluate what such errors may have caused.

As Loki's healing progressed, all of Asgard showed signs of waking from a state of stagnation and apprehension. It seemed as though Odin's state of mind had tainted the magic of Asgard itself, and Thor promised himself he would not let that happen again. 

*****

For someone who hated being in Medical, Tony ended up there a lot. Second degree burns, a mild concussion and a broken ankle - ugh! What a pain in the ass! Tony was extra frustrated because he couldn't work on Pepper's extremis issue with a concussion. 

At least he knew what was up with Shield and Fury. He never expected Matrix-Pirate to have such a change of heart, but the guy was being _VERY_ careful about uprooting Hydra and not so ends-justify-the-means as he had been up till now. Amazing how learning your worst enemy was able to find a comfy home inside your organization could instigate major re-prioritization.

While Tony had been fighting fiery assholes, Fury, along with Natasha and Clint, had been hip deep in thwarting a Hydra assassination plot involving high level Shield agents and Alexander freaking Pierce.

Tony wasn't willing to be part of Shield, but when Fury requested help directly, he decided helping dismantle Hydra from the inside out was no problem. 

*****

Nick Fury was a cold-hearted SOB and a bit of an asshole who spent most of his career with Shield convinced that the ends justified the means. He'd seen things that quite honestly he wished he hadn't (and truth be told, done things he wished he hadn't as well). And he'd been OK with that (mostly). 

Until Tony Stark, with a bit of information and tech, had upended his world.

Howard had been an integral piece of Shield's creation, and his tech was a marvel in its time. Tony was a whole different level of genius when it came to tech. Until recently, Nick hadn't thought too deeply about why Shield hadn't attempted to bring Tony under its wing, but now - with Hydra revealed IN SHIELD - he wasn't surprised at all.

They'd killed the man's father and mother, using Bucky Barnes - the Winter Soldier UNMASKED - to do it. Considering the man's prowess with computers, Stark WOULD have found that information and Hydra would have been in for a world of pain considering what happened to people when they hurt him or those he cared about. 

What Hydra had done to Barnes had made Nick puke, and that had NEVER happened in his career. And he did not want to even start thinking about the shit-storm that would happen when the information found its way to Rogers. 

Fury couldn't sit on this intel, but he knew he was shit at this kind of thing. Stark had given him a way to make untraceable/untrackable contact through his butler-AI, so he reached out but asked to be put through to Virginia Potts instead. 

Stark was going to need the support. 


	9. Breaking and Mending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Soldier exists, but the movie doesn't - because the entire concept of not using the computer expert to stop a tech problem is insulting. 
> 
> And people actually communicate in this verse!

Thor was amazed at the changes Asgard was going through now that Odin had been repudiated by Gungnir. Most obvious was the change of heart regarding Jotenheim - which was most appreciated as Loki was currently unable to assume his Aesir form as he recovered his magic.

Loki, his brave, cunning, fearless brother had been terrified when he'd been unable to shift out of his birth-form, convinced that all of Asgard would reject him at best and execute him at worst. He'd been stunned that the opposite had occurred. Loki had visitors, THANKING him for protecting Asgard, for saving their queen. It seemed to help speed his recovery. Eventually Loki assumed his Aesir appearance, but it was out of a comfortable habit instead of fear. Thor could not have been happier. 

Loki had finally been released from the healers' care when Heimdall informed them that Tony'd been inquiring after them. Frigga knew her sons missed their friend on Midgard and bade Thor to visit and Loki to resume his post as Ambassador as soon as he felt up to it. Pleased to be of service to their mother and their queen, they headed toward Heimdall and the Bifrost.

*****

The last thing Tony expected when Point Break and Reindeer Games arrived was a game of "which person had the most ridiculously dangerous few days recently?". It was pretty obvious Loki "won". 

When Loki learned the particulars of Tony's run-in with extremis warriors and Pepper's problem, he didn't hesitate to contact his mother and Asgard's healers. Though they were unable to remove Extremis from her DNA, they were able to reduce its volatility and stabilize it. 

Loki also asked about what might be done to aid Tony in removing the danger of the metal near his heart and the damage to his lungs and rib-cage as a result of the need for the arc-reactor. A trip to Asgard would be needed to find out for sure - Tony's brain "blue-screened" when he heard that... he was going to visit another planet! Holy crap!

It took time to arrange. Healers needed to calibrate their equipment for human physiology - luckily, they were able to use his pre-existing medical information in addition to scans they took of Tony during their time on earth. Pepper managed the legal and SI paperwork to cover the time Tony would be off-planet.

And Tony needed time to miniaturize the arc-reactor even further. He may not need its electromagnetic function any longer without the shrapnel, but resistance to mind-control wasn't something he was willing to give up. After putting up with a hand-sized hole in his chest for years, a centimeter-deep arc reactor was a walk in the park. 

While Tony was preparing for the surgery, Loki and Thor took some time to work with the United Nations to set up Loki's official Ambassador's quarters, to officially recognize Thor and Frigga as Ruling Co-Regents of Asgard, and to begin brainstorming on how to introduce the idea of Midgard's relationship to the Nine Realms to both Earth _AND_ the realms. Tony found it rather mind-blowing, and he was "used" to weird situations. 

Once they had all their ducks in a row, Tony headed off to Asgard with the Norse-Bros. Asgard wouldn't know what hit them! 

**

Thor and Loki stood back and watched as Tony alternately charmed and discombobulated the people of Asgard.

The common folk were excited to meet Thor's Midgardian Shield Brother, especially the one who had basically rescued Loki. The nobility had no idea what to make of him. The Healers found him both endearing and annoying as they worked with him. And once Tony was finished with the treatment and could visit the Smiths - they thought he'd never leave. He even managed to charm the smiths into giving him metal samples to return to Midgard with, and promised to send back samples in return - which was giving Frigga ideas that were sure to turn Asgard on its head. 

It was hilarious!

Loki particularly enjoyed the ongoing befuddlement of Thor's warrior friends. They hadn't recovered from Thor's rejection of their - and his own - treatment of Loki. They were baffled by how easily the people accepted his ~~Frost Giant~~ Jotenheim heritage. And watching the easy camaraderie between Thor, Loki and "Lord Stark" (yeah, Tony still couldn't stop chuckling at that one) made it worse. It was Tony who suggested why, as they relaxed after dinner the evening before they were destined to return to Midgard.

"They're jealous of you, Loki," he paused as Loki "blue-screened" in response, "well - and now me", Tony smirked, and added "and they're possessive of you, Thor".

"What?" both brothers responded. Tony proceeded to explain, "I learned this the hard way myself, through sheer luck," Thank god for Rhodey, Tony thought.

"True friends are GLAD when you make more friends and have good relationships, etc. Possessive _pseudo_ -friends" (or Family - looking at you Stane) "are threatened by it. They have a zero-sum attitude." noticing the brothers' confused faces, Tony clarified. "they see any gain by another as a loss for them - which isn't how **real** friendship works." 

Loki looked both surprised and pleased by the information, and Thor looked pensive. "Yeah, Thor. It sucks." Tony patted Thor's beefy arm and gave a small smile in understanding, "but you're not alone, and who knows - Asgard's been shaken up quite a bit lately. Things can change."

Thor smiled in return, as they sat together and enjoyed each other's company. 

*****

Pepper was in shock, and forever grateful that she could manage the extremis in her body because she didn't know what would have happened to her office without it. 

She'd received the file on Tony's parents from Nick Fury, and almost hadn't opened it - she was going to wait for Tony to return. But Fury's words "you need to see this so you're prepared to support him through this," got to her. She called Happy and Rhodes first because the intensity of Fury's statement frankly scared her. If the information was that bad, Tony would need as much support as possible.

The information was that bad.

Pepper waited until Tony reached out to her after he returned from Asgard. She wasn't going to withhold any information, but she sure as hell wasn't going to cut short any enjoyment he was having. There was no way he wasn't on cloud nine after visiting another planet and she wasn't taking a minute of that away from him. 

When Tony got back into business mode, she set up a time for them to meet. She let him know it was important, and it was bad, and that she'd be bringing Happy and Rhodes with her. When his human friends arrived, Pepper told him what Fury had said... what was on the video, what had happened to his parents. Tony asked Thor and Loki stay as well. 

They watched the video together.

Loki put his hand on his brother's arm to settle him as a storm brewed outside the tower. 

Rhodey and Pepper each held a hand of Tony as Happy stood behind them, a solid comforting presence. 

Tony didn't make a sound as tears rolled down his cheeks, and his whole body flinched when he watched his parents die. 

Silence was heavy for several long minutes when the video ended. 

Pepper, Rhodes and Happy surrounded Tony and held him as he collapsed into them, tears on all their faces. 

Tony finally stood, his face a mixture of pain and anger. He looked at Rhodey and Thor and Loki. 

"I need to blow something up." He called his Iron Man suit to him; Rhodey got into War Machine.

Loki and Thor nodded as Loki spoke, "Tell me where you need to go."


	10. It's not easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hate is too much work to keep up. And too easy for others to manipulate.

Tony basically slept for 3 days after taking out his anger and grief on defenseless concrete and other miscellaneous explodeable materials (yay testing ranges!). When he finally surfaced from the stupor of grief, he was told in no uncertain terms by the people who loved him that the issue of the Winter Soldier would be addressed, but not by him. 

Jarvis had pulled every piece of information he could find on the Winter Solder program, though he would not share it with Tony (yet - thanks to Rhodey putting protective protocols in place while Tony was recovering from emotional shock). It was clear that though the Soldier was _physically_ responsible for what happened to Tony's parents, Hydra was _**entirely**_ responsible. They'd kidnapped, experimented on, and tortured James Buchanan Barnes for DECADES, using his skill as a soldier and marksman and reducing him to a tool. And the fact that the man was the best friend of Captain America was likely icing on the cake for the bastards - as if everything else wasn't shitty in and of itself. 

Pepper was pulling together a team of mental health professionals who dealt with every aspect of PTSD, torture, brainwashing, cult-recovery - anything even remotely connectable to the situation. Rhodey in his infinite wisdom, and with his extensive military connections, had started digging into how the man's status as the oldest living POW could be used to protect him if he were rescuable. 

Jarvis was providing Rhodey with information regarding potential locations where the man might be located, and calculating the feasibility of rescue scenarios. Rhodey was considering bringing Rogers on board - the odds of success increased significantly when he was factored in. Once Rogers had gotten past his own "Captain America" press and buckled down in Boot Camp and Officer Training, he'd proved to be quite an effective soldier. With the additional physical training, he had an incredible degree of control of his strength - and with the psychological support to help him adjust to the 70 year time skip, Rogers was in a much better place to participate in what would be a very emotionally difficult Mission. 

Thanks to support from his friends and his therapist, Tony stayed out of the whole thing. He needed to stay focused on the Thanos/Infinity stone situation.

*****

Tony always got a kick out of meeting at the New York Sanctum. SO many cool things! Granted, he wasn't allowed to touch a lot of them cause, you know, possible death or worse, but Magic? A whole other world! Of course, his scientific sensibilities were insulted at first - but "the source code that shapes reality?!?" - The Ancient One had him at "source code"!

It was better to meet at the Sanctum - shielding, protection _above and beyond_ the scientific protection provided by Tony...along with a Stark Special coffee machine and whatever else the Wizards let him install. So far, they had three stones - Space, Time and Reality. Fury'd informed Tony that the Scepter & Mind stone were "missing" and had been for some time. Hydra - again. You can't kill an idea, but Tony was determined to weaken the squid gang - and with Fury, Widow, Hawk-Eye and potentially Rogers working on the non-tech side of pulling them apart, the bastards were in trouble.

For now, though, they had to get the Mind stone away from Hydra ASAP. With the combined efforts of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Loki, and Jarvis, they'd located it in Sokovia. 

*****

Wanda and Pietro had been taken in by Baron Strucker as teenagers. 

They'd been angry, and desperate, and as a result they were ripe for manipulation. So when a man with obvious power and connections promises revenge on the person you hold responsible for killing your parents and making you an orphan, it's practically impossible to say no. Strucker had housed them, fed them, gave them work - all things hard to find in Sokovia. 

When the work they did for him... _changed_ , they tried to ignore their doubts and worries because it was easier than letting go of the anger. It was easier than admitting you made the wrong choice. Even then, they were both beginning to regret ever coming into contact with him. 

When they started working at the castle, the doubts and worries faded... they weren't sure why, but their concerns seemed So much less important. The anger was MUCH easier to hold on to; it was so much easier to blame others when your broken pieces took so long to heal.

When Strucker approached them about becoming _more_ , it was much easier to say yes. 

Sometimes the doubts returned, but they disappeared in a blue haze. 

*****

With the help of the UN, Tony received permission from Sokovia for the Hydra/Scepter retrieval mission. Fury pulled the team from the original NYC attack together - they all had a stake in this job. The Ancient One herself told Tony she would come along with him - she had shields, and she could separate the stone from the scepter and contain it. Considering the scepter's mind-whammy powers, Tony was thrilled to have her along. He'd have liked to have Loki along but a) he was an Ambassador and only to be called on as an Avenger in magic/high-threat situations and b) no one wanted to expose him to the scepter if it could be avoided. 

Team Fury managed to keep damage to a minimum, targeting the main base, while Tony concentrated the energy shield. Jarvis worked his way into the system, looking for the scepter's location so the Ancient One and Iron man could portal directly to it. Tony gave a head's up to the team through the communicators when they got a hit on the scepter. 

It appeared to be unguarded - which was SOOO not suspicious at all, Tony thought. Regardless, they had their target in sight so in they went. The Ancient One was first to speak, "We're not alone".

"I'm getting some weird reading," Tony replied. "Let's get the Glowstick of Destiny and get out of here." The Ancient One nodded and cautiously moved towards it, getting within a few feet before a wave of red engulfed Iron Man, bringing him to his knees. The wave rolled toward her, but disintegrated into a shower of gold sparks before touching her. Before she could move to assist Tony - she could hear him having a panic attack of some sort - a blur flew through the room and knocked Iron Man into the wall. She was surprised to "see" a young man in the blur - a benefit of the Time stone, speeding her perception to match his speed. 

"We've found the scepter; we're under attack!" The Ancient One announced on the com-link. She shielded Tony and herself tightly against the red-magic-onslaught the young woman in the room continued to send towards her and Iron Man. She then pulled both of the attackers into the Mirror Dimension and incapacitated them. Once they were contained, she allowed her magic to engulf the scepter, peeling it away from the Mind stone and crushing it, while shielding the stone itself and wrapping it safely in a protective magic shell. The Stone almost seemed to welcome it, which surprised her. 

She could hear the team had overcome the base and was gathering prisoners and information, but her main focus was Tony. She rushed to his side, calling for Jarvis to allow her access to Tony. She carefully eased her hand along the suit, using her magic to remove any harmful influences of the magic wave that had engulfed him.

The suit opened to show Tony unconscious, but looking as though he was having a seizure. Once the helmet pulled back, the Ancient One placed her hands on his head, gently stroking his brow with her thumbs. His trembling eased, and she continued the motion, calling his name softly.

"Tony"

***

It was RED and he was FEAR. 

It was black - never ending, dark, and he was falling. falling. falling. 

It was fire - and she was falling. falling. falling. 

It was water raging - and he was drowning. 

It was pain; he couldn't move - and he was dying. 

Over and over and over and over. 

It was quiet.

He was safe.

She was safe.

He could breathe.

Soft, warm, soothing, still.

It was GOLD and he was SAFE.

"Tony"


	11. Losing hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maximoffs are introduced and the Ancient One calls BS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per Marvel wiki info, The Sorcerer Supreme's name is given as Yao. Though not the same characterization as the movie, I've chosen to use it as her name for conversation's sake cause typing "The Sorcerer Supreme" over and over is a pain in the butt.

Yao, while not a big user of technology, appreciated it greatly as she communicated Iron Man's status to his team while portalling both him and herself to the sanctum. She had Wong reach out to Stark Medical in the event they were needed, and put Mordo in charge of the enhanced Hydra operatives she had placed in the Mirror dimension. They reeked of the scepters influence, which needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, but Tony’s condition took precedence. 

Thankfully the she'd been able to pull Tony out of the magic induced hallucinations quickly. It had taken some time, but with care, several of the Masters and herself had kept him from falling into a state of psychic shock that could have easily transitioned into physical trauma if not dealt with. Tony was currently resting in Stark Medical under the watchful eyes of his friends, and under several layers of magical protection. 

Yao was exhausted, but she could not leave the young man and woman under the toxic influence of the Scepter. Though the Scepter itself had been destroyed, it had left behind a magic "residue" within those it had touched. They were physically fine - for now. If the residue was not dealt with soon it would fester, much like an infected wound. Thanks to the quick thinking of her order, the two had remained in the mirror dimension and were in a kind of "magical stasis". Yao was able to weave a spell around both of them to cleanse them of the stone's contamination.

There would be consequences to their actions, but she believed in redemption - when it was TRULY sought. She would see if that was the case once their minds were entirely their own.

*****

At the return of Sir, and during his recovery, Jarvis went into overdrive to find information regarding the Maximoff twins. Thanks to Sir's forethought, Shield's Avenger team had provided him access to the systems at the Hydra base and Jarvis was able to upload quite a bit of information to Shield (and, of course, to his own system).

The Maximoff's grudge against Sir was based on what humans would consider _emotional evidence -_ the name on the missile. Understandable in the case of young children, but not so much when held by more mature humans and measured against facts - rather commonly known facts.

  * Sir, like his father before him, manufactured weapons for the US military through legal contractual obligation.
  * Sir no longer manufactured weapons and actively destroyed those in illegal circulation.
  * Obadiah Stane was responsible for illegal sales and distribution of weaponry both before AND after Sir had shut down SI's weaponry division.
  * SI had never sold weapons to Eastern European countries.



As Sir had listed the Masters of the Mystic Arts and the Sorcerer Supreme as allies with related permissions and access to pertinent information, Jarvis assembled the relevant documentation - Hydra's records regarding the twins assessment and recruitment, as well as experimentation performed on them, and psychological manipulation of their trauma. If the Sorcerer Supreme could help and protect Sir, Jarvis would do whatever was in his power to support her.

*****

The Sorcerer Supreme observed the twins as they recovered. They were treated humanely - clean clothing, food, shelter, polite (if superficial) communication - but they were kept under heavy magical restraint. They had retained their powers, even without the Scepter's influence - it appeared as though the Mind Stone had awaken something that was already present in them. 

They were angry and confused, which was understandable, but their obsessive focus on Anthony Stark as the cause of their predicament and refusal to accept responsibility and open their eyes to the circumstances they had **brought on themselves** was wearing her patience thin.

It was time to lay down some harsh truths, she decided. 

She entered the mirror dimension and waited for them to notice her presence, then waited some more for them to finish their ranting. She got right to the point.

"If someone were to take your powers, and use your powers to hurt another, do you deserve blame?"

She paused, letting them sit in stunned silence and hopefully ponder the question. She took that as a relatively good sign, but continued quickly before they could start on another rant. 

"No. The thief should be held responsible for both the theft and the assault”, she said, sternly “to do otherwise is unreasonable”.

Then her face took on a softer countenance, “Would it be understandable that the victim would feel pain and fear upon seeing the shape and color of your powers?” She paused, "Would it be fair to blame YOU?" She paused again, waiting for them to make the connection. Without the stone's influence, their anger deflated quickly, and their confusion increased in equal measure - The Sorcerer Supreme was pleased, and pressed the advantage.

“Your pain and grief are real and understandable. Your anger is real and understandable. But the target you have chosen for it is not.” She could see the uncertainty in their eyes as she spoke, so many years spent in the pursuit of what they’d thought to be justice; but the truth of her words was undeniable. 

“The presence in the scepter took the truth of your grief and pain and anger, and twisted it in such a way that you could not move through it.” She saw the moment they realized what had been happening; felt their defensiveness crumble under the weight of the recognition of the scepter’s manipulation. 

"If you are willing to accept YOUR responsibility for the situation you have brought upon yourselves, we are willing to help you recover and make amends." She looked at both of them, her gaze intensifying, "Regardless of your choice, there will be consequences. Choose wisely. I will know when you've made your decision." She turned and walked through the door.

*****

The Sorcerer Supreme did not always wear the Eye of Agamatto; most often, it sat safely in a holder in the library or other protected area of the Sanctum. Which was why the Sorcerer Supreme wasn't aware of it when it reached for those who had been touched by one of its brethren as the other inhabitants of the Sanctum slept. 

If an Infinity Stone could be _curious_ , it was.

Time was able to "see" the twins' lives in a flash and recognized the effect of the scepter's contamination of Mind on their interpretation of the sequence of events that had brought them to the Sanctum. 

Time was _aware_ of the shift that had occurred when Space had first been manipulated by a foreign entity, when Mind was trapped within the scepter that entity had forged.

Time knew what _had been_ and _could yet be_ if similar paths were taken. 

For centuries, Time had _allowed_ the Masters to use it during its existence on earth. The sentience it possessed, while amoral by human standards, nevertheless sought universal balance.

That balance was threatened. 

Time _chose to act._

_The Maximoff twins "dreamed"_ _;_

_Of a missile falling_

_Of blood and sand, broken trust, looming death;_

_Of deep space and terror;_

_Of the end of all things._

Heartfelt words greeted the Sorcerer Supreme upon entering the mirror dimension.

"We're sorry!" "We were wrong." "What can we do?" "Please help us make things right."

If an Infinity Stone could be satisfied, it was.


	12. Letting Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress is made, AoU and CW are ignored because breaking relationships to create drama is lazy and the stories were ridiculous anyway.

Ow.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Tony didn't know how it could feel like his entire body hurt when he actually hadn't hurt his entire body, but, well, there you go. 

As he slowly climbed back to consciousness he began to remember what had happened - and then all the "ow" made sense. 

Tony was eternally grateful he'd joined up with the Mystic Master gang because he knew he'd be dead otherwise, or at minimum a broken, empty husk. 

He was kind of shocked there wasn't _MORE "ow" ,_ because holy crap, he never wanted to go through that again. 

He could hear voices - murmuring around him that he couldn't distinguish but found comforting nonetheless. He could feel his body - and surprisingly the pain was receding. He could feel people holding his hands - small and soft on one side - had to be Pepper; larger and calloused on the other - maybe Rhodey or Loki? It didn't matter. He felt safe. He was with family and friends. 

Tony tried to smile and squeeze their hands to let them know he knew they were there; then the pull of sleep was too great and he drifted away. 

Loki stood and made room for Rhodey to take his place at Tony's side. He'd been using his magic to support the work the Masters had done to heal Tony, and felt the spark of his consciousness surface and drift into a healing sleep. Tony must have given some outward sign that Loki missed because everyone in the room looked MUCH more relaxed than they had been only an hour before. 

"It's a healing sleep", he announced to the room. Everyone relaxed even further as he walked to the door, letting Friday know he would be resting but available if he was needed. 

***

Once the initial shock wore off, Tony recovered quickly and he and Loki spent a lot of time with the Masters, teaching and learning magic and science. Despite the seriousness of the reason for their collaboration, everyone was energized by what they were learning... so much so that the Masters were considering becoming a little more "present" in the world. 

One thing they discovered that they found surprising was how the Infinity stones resonated with each other. Considering the horrifying goal of the one who sought them, and the damage that had been wrought by the Mind stone under the Scepter's influence, it was rather shocking to feel ... _settled_ ... in their presence. Tony could swear there was a wordless conversation going on between them. When he worked up the courage to bring it up to Loki and Yao, they nodded in pleased agreement, as if they'd been looking for the words to describe something similar. 

It didn't really change anything for them. Loki's Allspeak wasn't picking up language and trying to translate "stone-speak" was rather far beyond Tony's pay grade - and that was saying something. They all put it in the back of their minds for the meantime and let their subconscious "simmer" with the information.

*****

Wanda considered herself luck to be able to spend her time at Kamar Taj. She missed her brother - Pietro spent most of his time with the X-men, learning and honing his powers. The Masters would portal him in for visits every month, and she was very thankful for their thoughtfulness.

She could never have predicted the outcome of that day at the Hydra base and how much her life had changed since then. Once the scepter was gone and its influence was cleansed from her psyche, she committed to serious work on herself and to make the most of the psychological help and support from the Masters who had experience with such trauma. She even REALLY apologized to Tony Stark. And, though she didn't expect it or feel like she deserved it, Tony apologized to her. Even though his actions weren't directly responsible for what had happened to her family, he felt his irresponsibility contributed to circumstances. They didn't become friends, but they professionally respect each other.

And the Mind stone, for some reason, had chosen to form a similar relationship with her as Time had formed the Masters and Sorcerer Supreme. She was immensely indebted to it and committed herself to becoming a strong, positive force on its behalf.

*****

Tony knew there was other life in the universe - proof lived in the Tower with him. But that still didn't lessen his surprise when the self proclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy arrived on earth, pretty much at his doorstep, with the Power stone. 

Apparently, the stones on Earth had become aware of and responded to the situation around them. They called to Power. Peter was able to convince Xandar to give it to him to take to Earth - Power had been giving a nudge to Nova Prime so it wasn't difficult. The Guardians were calling what they considered their Earth counterparts (Tony, Loki, Rhodey, Thor, Yao and the Masters, and the X-Men) "the Protectors". Supposedly this was the vibe the Power stone had been giving the Guardians... again, Tony had to ask himself "what was his life?!?" 

He had to admit, they really meshed well together. Peter was like a brother in snark. Tony & Rocket insulted each other constantly and loved it. The sparring happening between Rhodey, Thor, Drax, and Gamora was a blast to watch. Thor had to hold back a bit, but not too much when they all ganged up on him - it was hilarious! Nebula and Gamora started off with a pretty uncomfortable relationship with Loki. It got better over time; thankfully they didn't torture him during his time with Thanos, but they knew of his existence and what he had experienced. It was an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable situation. Weirdly, but unsurprisingly, they eventually got past the discomfort through a massive bitch-fest involving stories of paternal abuse and torture. Tony found himself participating; it was surprisingly... cleansing. 

Everybody seemed surprised that he and Nebula hit it off. She was angry, literal, and blunt, and VERY self-conscious and protective about her augmentations. She'd been stand-offish at first when Tony invited her to the lab, but when she met his bot-kids and found she could communicate with them, she began to relax. They showered her with attention and affection, and Tony treated her like a person - more easily even than the Guardians had. And he treated any issues she had with her augmentations like medical problems to take care of - so she let him. 

It was nice. 


	13. The Beginning and the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love it when a plan comes together!
> 
> Screw Marvel (LOL!)!

They train, bond, and brainstorm as much as they can, as often as they can until one day, Yao says "It's time".

Gamora knows where the soul stone is, and with her permission, Yao uses her power to visualize the location and portal half of the team to Vormir; Tony, Nebula and Gamora because of their strength and firepower, and Loki and Yao for magic (and transportation).

They make their way to the summit and find the Guardian waiting. Not one to mince words, Tony pops up his faceplate and speaks, "So, red and floaty, where do we find the Soul stone?" Eyerolls all around.

"It is here," the Guardian says, "What you seek lies before you. As does what you fear. You should know, it extracts a terrible price."

"What price?" Yao asks.

"Soul hold a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom." 

"Tell us what is required," says Loki.

"To ensure that whoever possesses it... understands its power.... The stone demands a sacrifice."

The team look to each other, worried, not liking the direction the conversation is taking. 

Gamora speaks, "A sacrifice? Of what?"

"In order to take the stone you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul."

Everyone is speechless - they are all shocked. They had no idea they would be facing this - none of the other stones had required anything from any of them for possession. 

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this information?!?" Tony demands, frustrated and a bit pissed off before becoming pensive. He sees the same play of emotions over everyone's face. Each of them are silent, digesting the Guardian's words.

A sacrifice. Losing what you love. A soul for a soul.... a life for a life. Almost as one, they look at each other, realizing what the Soul stone requires. 

"How do we choose?!?" Nebula barks angrily. 

They all start talking at once, when Tony's voice draws their attention. "What the?!" he says, confused. "There's an energy build-up, really close by; practically on top of us." Everyone stops talking, and looks worriedly toward him." Tony closes the face-plate to get more info, "I can't identify it" he says with frustration, "It's everywhere, it..." his voice breaks off mid-sentence. Suddenly the suit glows blindingly, then goes dark. 

*****

Tony closes the face-plate, "I can't identify it" he says with frustration, "It's everywhere, it..." a blinding flash of light cuts him off mid sentence, then everything goes dark.

**

A sacrifice. Losing what you love. A soul for a soul.... a life for a life.

The Soul stone knows of Tony’s death. An alternate life, in an alternate timeline. Death as a sacrifice to save the life of the universe. The price, paid. 

**

Tony opens his eyes. He's out of the suit, in a shallow pool at the base of the mountain, his hand closed tightly. He opens it and finds the stone in his hand.

He gets up slowly and looks around, confused. He sees child in the distance and walks toward her.

As he gets closer, he notices how young she is, and how her hair curls like his when he lets it get to long. He calls out to her. 

"Hello?"

The child turns to him, a loving smile on her face. Morgan/Soul speaks, "You did it".

"I did?" _a whisper in his head, determined, "and I.... am.... Iron man."_

Pepper/Soul "At such great cost", her smile is sad, but full of love

Tony looks confused. "What cost?" _a warm touch, "you can rest now."_

Peter/Soul - "Thanks Mr. Stark," the young man hugs a baffled Tony. 

Tony doesn't recognize Peter - but his SOUL does, and melts into the hug. _"We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it"_

The young man disappears. Tony looks down at the stone in his hand, and closes his eyes.

He has the stone.

***

Only seconds have passed in the real world, and before the team has time to panic at the disappearance of their friend, the suit again glows a blinding orange. Iron Man's face-plate pops open, startling them.

"Holy shit!" Tony exclaims as he staggers a bit with shock. Surprised exclamations come from everyone as they move to support him. Tony regains his footing and, before anyone can ask what happened, he opens his hand to reveal the Soul stone.

Eager to be away from Vormir, they portal home.

*****

By now it's obvious to everyone that there's a lot more to the stones than they first thought. Thankfully, there seems to be no hostility - just a depth of power that's incredibly intimidating. Nobody wants to piss the stones off. 

The stones were brought together and kept at Kamer Tag for safe keeping. As soon as they can, those that the stones seem to have chosen come together as well: Time and the Ancient one, Space and Loki, Aether and Thor, Power and Peter, Mind and Wanda, and Soul and Tony. 

As one, the question they ask of the stones is "what do you need us to do?" They're surprised to feel something akin to pleasure emanating from the stones. The stones "thank" them for NOT using the power they had access to.

In a wave of energy that washes over the group, the stones show their intent - to transmute themselves into non-solid forms and disperse so they can exist and experience the universe in peace.

They disappear, and unknown to the group, they leave a bit of themselves within their chosen, as a gift, as protection, as thanks - because the stones' experience with corporeal beings in this aspect of the multiverse is what activated their sentience and gave them "life".

*****

Thanos never comes into possession of the stones - yet the stones _know_ him. 

He is responsible for universe-wide death & destruction across many realities.

The stones journey throughout the universe, a swirl of rainbow essence with purpose.

They find what they seek. They dissolve the gauntlet... and Thanos... and those minions who chose him.

Thanos - the antithesis of balance in the universe - is no more. 


	14. Epilogue 1:  Happy Endings Everywhere!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pure self-indulgence abounds!

Jarvis, Rhodey, Steve and the military find James "Bucky" Barnes and rescue him from Hydra (which has been getting weaker thanks to Fury taking Tony’s advice). Steve gets his friend back, and since he's had therapy and been integrating much more, he’s able to accept Bucky as he heals and finds his new self. 

They don't live at the tower cause that would be a crappy thing to do to Tony, but over time, the three of them form an interesting friendship based on their shared loathing of and participation in the dismantling of Hydra.

***

Doctor Steven Strange becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts and builds a strong friendship with Yao and Wong. His scientific mindset makes it easier for the Order to build a bridge to the “real” world. 

Yao is secretly greatful that time shifted in this manner and that she was gifted with the friendships that came to be. 

Stephen's smart-assery meshes rather hilariously with Tony’s - "awesome facial hair bros" indeed.

Depending on the day, Yao and Wong either enjoy it and roll with it or hide.

***

Doctor's Banner and Stark "science" regularly - Bruce feels at home for the first time in a long time, and somehow he knows the Hulk feels it to. Dr. Betty Ross and Dr. Jane Foster swing by occasionally to "science" as well. 

When Strange and Tony get going, Bruce and Hulk either hide in the lab or grab popcorn and watch, depending on their mood. 

Every month or so, Tony and Hulk go to one of SI's demolition sites and SMASH things for fun. It's one of their favorite things. Of course, Tony says it's "for science!"

*** 

Natasha finds a measure of peace and allows herself to consider that she's more than what the Red Room made her.

Being given the safety net at Stark Tower by Tony, recognizing how flawed the profile on him was, being kept out of the Shieldra betrayal fiasco but being able to take part in dismantling Hydra gives her a sense of purpose security she never expected, and never knew she needed.

The Barton family adopts Nat and she allows it.

***

Thanks to Tony’s heads up and kick in the ass, Fury actually uses the Shieldra Wake-up call to reassess what the organization he's been a part of should be as opposed to what it became.

It takes work, but accepting powered individuals as a not-automatically-a-threat opens a lot of world changing opportunities. 

***

Thanks to the changing relationship with Asgard, with Odin out of the way, Earth/Midgard takes its place among the Nine. 

The Guardians are invited to visit, which they do, and the Nine never knows what hit them. 

Earth... changes... slowly but inexorably. Awareness of the greater cosmos works its way through the populace, and awe overcomes fear. Humanity comes together. 

Nothing is perfect...

but there is Balance.


	15. Epilogue 2:  The Stone-Touched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thought I was done - till this morning's shower, LOL.

Sometimes Thor would dream troubling dreams: of his mother's dying blood spilt on the castle floor, of Jane fading away as the power of the Aether consumed her; of Loki's lifeless body on a dead planet. He'd awake with tears on his face, holding Jane tightly as a reassurance of the here-and-now to drive the grief away. 

Jane would hold him close and just as tightly. 

She had the same dream.

****

JARVIS was a rather very intelligent system - and more. As a result of Sir's vigilance regarding educating him about humanity's predilection to assume the worst of AI's, JARVIS had consumed multitudes of science fiction works as well as theoretical treatise's on the subject. 

JARVIS did _not_ dream of electric sheep. But a short time after SIR and his friends had dealt with the Infinity Stones, JARVIS... dreamt.

It was just the one time. The dream was in parts amusing, but most often strange and uncomfortable; Sir, of course, featured in most of it, for Sir was most important to him.

In the worst parts, JARVIS saw Sir gravely injured and felt loss; saw his _own_ demise... twice; saw a face that was him and yet _not_. 

It happened only once, and JARVIS saved the file but did not dwell on the anomaly.

He did, however, retain his _feelings_ toward Sir. 

JARVIS _was_ a rather very intelligent system - and more.

****

Wanda sometimes dreamt of deaths that never were; of her brother's, of her own, of a stranger with a kind voice who shone with the light of the Mind stone. In the dreams her heart was consumed with anger and hatred that burned through her in red waves. 

Yet they always ended in a wash of gold, the worst of the fear and pain and anger and hatred swept away, leaving only an echo behind. 

And she always woke with a deep appreciation of the life she'd been gifted with that fateful day in Sokovia - when she'd taken revenge on Tony Stark... and then was _given_ a choice - and a chance.

****

Dr. Stephen Strange considered himself lucky. He'd lost one life and found another, richer and deeper one. He had _friends_ \- more than ONE (which often surprised him). Considering how much of an ass he'd been when he'd arrived at Kamer Taj, he couldn't believe he had the good fortune to count Wong and the Sorcerer Supreme among them. 

That made it easier to approach her when the echoes appeared, and strange (ha) nightmares haunted him. He told her of times when would look at her and feel her loss, or at Kaecilius and feel the need to defend himself; of dying over and over in a place he'd never been; of the end of everything. 

You could have knocked him over with a feather when she told him why. 

That same night he dreamed of a sea of bright and brilliant green and a feeling of clarity and distance around the other-life that stayed with him in the waking world. 

Which, considering who Yao was friends with, was a very good thing!

****

When the stones had disappeared, Yao had been deeply frightened for the first time in a VERY long time. The Time stone had been with the Masters of the Mystic arts for as long as she'd been alive, helping to keep Earth safe. 

She was so thankful to have had the opportunity to cut those ties to Dormammu and heal the wounds they'd created. Yet she feared.

With the echoes of another timeline and death in her mind, how could she not feel fear?

Surprisingly, the appearance of Dr. Stephen Strange at her door softened her fear. 

When he came to her, deeply troubled, she understood why.

And when a wash of brilliant green soothed her dreams, she reached out with her power in thanks.

****

Loki treasured every day.

That's not to say he wasn't occasionally "Prince Dark and Broody" as Stark occasionally described him. But the changes that occurred since Iron Man's defeat of the Chitauri fleet had affected his life SO deeply, how could he not find each day a gift?

Once he had considered himself to have lost the only home he'd known. Now, he was welcome "home" on multiple worlds. 

Once he had not been truly seen or understood by those closest to him. Now, they - AND he - accepted all parts of him. 

Friends, family, home, understanding - driving away the fleeting pain of another life. 

\- Oh, and the surprising ability to teleport practically _ANYWHERE_ with incredible ease was rather fantastic as well. 

****

Neither Gamora nor Peter had ever thought they would find love.

Two stolen children who'd hardened their hearts to survive, existing day to day; every day a fight to deny the brokenness inside. 

Somehow they found each other; they found friendship; they found family.

Somehow they found love.

Somehow they felt how close they'd come to losing it all.

Two stolen children opened their hearts to survive, living and enjoying life day to day; every day a fight to protect what they'd found. 

****

Tony never thought he'd live a peaceful life. (He'd been right about that!)

At several points along the way, he didn't think he'd survive. (Hello little bit of x-gene!)

He'd lost his parents, been betrayed by his godfather, and built so many walls to protect himself emotionally that he'd assumed he'd always be alone. 

He was SOOO glad to be wrong. 

He had longtime treasured friends - Rhodey, Happy, Pepper. 

He had friends from other PLANETS! 

Heck, he had MAGIC friends! And magic used to give him HIVES!!!

He had friends who shared similar deep down pains of not belonging; one blue (sometimes), and one green (sometimes).

He loved it, but seriously - "what was his life?!?" he couldn't help thinking with a chuckle. 

~

Now, thanks to the Soul stone, he KNEW he had "kids". Well, he'd _always_ considered Dum-E, Butterfingers, U and JARVIS to be his kids, and loved them as much as if they were actually his own flesh and blood. 

But now he _KNEW_. He could _see_ the life inside them. He could _feel_ their love for him, and he knew they could feel his. 

~

Tony knew he'd never live a peaceful life. 

But he knew he'd survive and thrive. 

He knew he was loved.

He knew it deep down in his Soul. 


	16. Not a chapter, but a thanks :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I write this, my hit count is 2964 - the most I've ever had. 
> 
> Just wanted to say, as THE number approaches...
> 
> Love you all 3000!

Thanks to your encouragement, I've gotten back into working on the autism education book I started last year.

You're ALL the best!


End file.
